body odor

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  • Specializes in education, school nursing, med-surg, urgent care.

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kidzcare

3,393 Posts

I am not a school nurse, so forgive me for overstepping - and also, forgive me for suggesting you take on more work than you already do - but what about a hygiene presentation, so for all of the students or say all of the 5th graders or whatever may be applicable. So, no one student is singled out.

This is done pretty often. The drawback is that it may not occur to a kid that they could possibly stink until it is specifically brought to their attention.

Cattz, ADN

1,068 Posts

Specializes in School Nurse. Having conversations with littles..
:roflmao:Kimmy Gibbler feet. My son has them. We wash his shoes, charcoal them at night and it still reeks. Good luck with the friend. Maybe share a Full House episode with her?

This reminds me of a story when my nephew (He has THE. KIMMY. GIBBLER. FEET) and his girlfriend (she is his precious bride now) were in college and they both played basketball. Anyway, the coach always did room checks at night, and it was the time of evening that everybody was supposed to be in their own rooms. They heard the coach coming down the hall, so girlfriend quickly hid in the closet. And, to her dismay, it didn't take but a few seconds to realize that his stinkin rotten basketball shoes were also in there!!!! They are the funniest best kind of kids, obviously, we still laugh about that to this day!!!:yuck:

NutmeggeRN, BSN

2 Articles; 4,621 Posts

Specializes in kids.
I am not a school nurse, so forgive me for overstepping - and also, forgive me for suggesting you take on more work than you already do - but what about a hygiene presentation, so for all of the students or say all of the 5th graders or whatever may be applicable. So, no one student is singled out.

Well...hygiene should begin at home...sadly it doen't always.

One day a nun announced loudly to our entire 11th grade class all mysteriously like, "Someone in this class has BO?! Do you know what BO is? We're all at the age now..." We all instantly started giggling and sniffing our own pits. Just strikes me as kind of funny now. It was embarrassing a little but we were all in it together ...sniff, giggle, sniff.

I like how you do it, KeeperoftheIceRN! :inlove:

That was a creative way to make everyone aware of themselves! And thanks! I try to make things as simple as I can so I don't overwhelm myself or the kiddos!

All of our 5th graders watch a video about puberty. Girls and boys are separated in different classrooms and the video is played. After the video, they can ask questions. We have a nurse and a male staff member for the boys and a nurse and female staff member for the girls. The video explains body odor and why it happens as well as other aspects of puberty. It is also helpful for young girls who have questions about the dreaded periods they have heard about. I work with our family resource center and this year we had samples of deodorant for the boys and some pads for girls. Some girls don't have a female in their home so it gives them a chance to ask questions. On the website is a parental permission slip that goes out so the parents have the option of their child not participating.

Puberty Materials for Educators - P&G School Programs

I don't mind talking with them about body odor. I think in some cases we are the only ones who may talk with them AND one day I might be the one sitting next to them somewhere.:wacky:

not a school nurse but one of my twins 6th grade teachers is male (and young, so they relate to them well). He gave each math class the same speech about BO and keeps Febreeze on his desk.

caliotter3

38,333 Posts

I was forced to give this talk to grown adults when I was in a supervisory role in the military. Yes, it was awkward. Sometimes a person like that never adjusted overall, and ended up separating from the service. Once the talk has been given by you, if you decide to do it in place of the teacher, you need to make sure she understands that she is in charge of follow-up. You can't conduct armpit inspection for the entire school on a daily basis.

peacockblue

293 Posts

I know I said I don't talk to kids about this but one thing I have done, and this helps if you already have a relationship with the kid, is ask about things at home. I have discovered that people have no water, or no hot water. Then I do offer to do laundry or have them shower in school and we can get the social worker involved to get the utilities turned back on.

Mango Juice

85 Posts

Call them down for a vision screening and the nonchalantly say you notice an odor and give them some pointers. :)

Maybe the teacher could call the parent and let the parent address it kindly. Who knows if the child's parent has bought the child deodorant. He may not have any at home. Since he is so young. I feel the parents should be notified.

Munch

349 Posts

Specializes in Med-Surg/Neuro/Oncology floor nursing..

I am not a school nurse but I have been put in this position in the past. In high school and while I was in college I had a part-time job at a retail store. I worked in the employee office part in human resources. Every employee issue was handed to me. This one employee had the worst smell..she worked directly with the retail shoppers so not only were fellow employees complaining about her stench but the customers were complaining to the managers about it. It wasn't your typical armpit smell but she was very overweight and I have a feeling she didn't wash behind her neck..I can't describe it but it was just foul. My boss came to me and asked me to talk to her because she said that my disposition makes me approachable and I had a way of making people feel comfortable in awkward situations.

Keep in mind I am about 18-19 years old at the time and the person that my boss wanted me to talk to was my moms age. But it had to be done and if I smelled like an unshowered foot I would want someone to tell me..not laugh behind my back not to mention I would be mortified if I had customers complain about my hygeine. So I took her to a private place away from everyone. Turns out her issue was two-fold. First of all she had absolutely no idea that she smelled. She lived alone and didn't have anyone to tell her that she smelled. Second she simply couldn't afford quality hygeine items. The VO5 shampoo which is all she could afford doubled as a body wash and she used dry 99 cent store bar soap as deodorant because she couldn't afford a stick of degree. It was actually really sad..she was trying to make do with what she said which sadly wasn't working. Luckily we had deodorant and body wash that we sold at our store and management let me requisition some stuff for her.

It could be a quick fix..it could be as simple as they don't know they smell or their parents can't come up with the 3 dollars for deodorant because they needed milk instead. Now I've had patients on the floor refuse to shower for mental health reasons..mental health issues are a whole other thing to deal with...

Culture or religion might enter in or, as stated by a PP, maybe the person washes but the clothing doesn't get washed.

Poverty, working parents, time issues.

Coaches/GYM teachers might be good ones to talk to all students . Or Health teachers should definitely be bringing up hygiene/hormones.

Religious workers can also being up this topic in Youth Groups and classes for attendees who are adults who are responsible for kids/teens/the odorous of any age.

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